Guardian
by Ao Yoake
Summary: Things have gone quiet in Ikebukuro ever since a certain information dealer has gone missing... (Implied Shizuo/Izaya, shounen-ai, boy love, etc., etc. You know the drill!)
1. Chapter 1

The side of a single fist was slammed firmly into a brick wall. The owner of the fist, a rather tall and limber blonde man cursed under his breath. It had been a while since anything entertaining had occurred in Ikebukuro, and even he was admittedly agitated by the lack of spice in his life. While he didn't condone violence (never mind the countless times he'd beaten people into a pulp at the drop of a hat), he also didn't like how quiet it had grown. It was too quiet.

Why was it too quiet? He couldn't pinpoint it. Then, it suddenly hit him, and with an expression of shock, he realized what it was. That damned Izaya! He'd been missing for two weeks. It was so strange not to see him traipsing through the streets at his leisure at least once a day, and he'd grown so accustomed to attacking him on sight.

Now, though. Now, he was nowhere to be seen.

Why? Where had he gone?

He desired to know the answers to these questions. He needed to return the spice to his life, lest he go mad. That's what he told himself so as to make an excuse for why he was searching desperately for the one person he so insistently claimed he hated.

Worried? He, the great Shizuo Heiwajima?

_Never!_

* * *

**Heya~ This is just a random idea of mine, since I just finished watching the amazing anime series, Durarara! I've got a bit of writer's block on my other fiction (Riptide), but rest assured, I intend to write the next chapter. Who knows? Maybe I'll alternate between this and my other fiction (if I continue this, that is).**

**So? What are your thoughts? Is this worth continuing? Do you like where it's going, or should it go to the scrap bin?**

**Teehee! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, I decided that just that little tiny excerpt wasn't enough to determine whether this story's worth writing or not. (Yeah, that ****_is_**** my stupid excuse for why I'm writing chapter two, thanks for noticing.)**

* * *

Shizuo had torn up half of Ikebukuro by the point he realized their was one crucial point he'd been missing- check all the places he usually sees that damned flea! What better place to start said search than in the flea's office?

Thus he found himself at Izaya Orihara's door, trying to decide just how to enter. Assuming that Izaya was, in fact, in the office, the best way to start this approach would be to knock on the door. He concluded that he'd just wing it. Thinking ahead wasn't Shizuo Heiwajima's style. His one-track mind didn't really allow for planning. Not that he cared that much. Usually.

"Oi, Izaya!" he shouted as he knocked on the door rather forcefully, but not as hard as he could. "You in there?!"

No answer. Just silence. He tried a few more times before his anger got the better of him, and he simply kicked the barrier between him and the office down. Inside, he saw Izaya, more vulnerable than ever. No, this wasn't Izaya. He dared not think it. This was a mere husk of the man that taunted him day in and day out with his annoying calls of, "Shizu-chan!"

No. This beaten and broken man was not that man. This face was not the one that filled his very center with more anger than any other. This was the face of a person who'd given up. Who'd admitted defeat. Of all people, Izaya Orihara would _never_ do that.

And yet, here he was. The face was unmistakably his. That characteristic fur trim coat that he was never seen without. Those tight jeans Shizuo never understood how he could run in- and never mind that Shizuo ran around in his bartender uniform all the time. One thing that Shizuo never wanted to admit was that this poor soul was Izaya.

"Ieyaaa!"

The ex-bartender blinked at the cry. It was yet another uncharacteristic action of the information broker. When he backed away from his beaten down door and rapidly threw anything he could get his hands on at the intruder, Shizuo didn't make a motion to block the objects. He took every attack as he slowly walked toward the terrified man.

It wasn't until they reached a kitchen and Izaya had grabbed up a large knife block that Shizuo grabbed hold of his wrists and stopped him.

"Stay away," Izaya said, his lip quivering, "get off me, don't touch me!"

"Who the hell did this to you?"

Shizuo was seething.

_Who the hell, indeed. Who **dared **to break him like this?!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Well, chapter three it is. Haha. I'll see what I can do. :)**

* * *

An hour of Izaya's screaming, another round of throwing objects, and an hour's worth or more of trying to calm him down later, Shizuo found out... well... absolutely nothing. The only thing he'd managed to do was get the man to calm down, and beyond that, he couldn't get him to do much of anything. All he'd do is nod or shake his head at questions that could be answered with a yes or no. He hadn't spoken since he'd shouted at Shizuo to get away, and the only time he'd heard Izaya's voice after that was when he was screaming in terror.

It was painful. Seeing him this way. It's not him. It can't be him. But it is.

He was still in denial. He knew he was, but that wasn't enough to knock him out of that denial. He clung to it, as if it were a blanket to keep him warm at night, and he was freezing.

Shizuo held his hands up, "Whatever. You don't have to tell me then. I give up. I try to help a flea, and this is what I get. I should have known."

But just as he was walking away, he heard a tiny voice. A voice that, had he not been hoping to hear it, he wouldn't have noticed. Still, he wasn't able to understand what words it was the information broker had uttered. He turned back toward the man, still cowering by the kitchen counter with broken china and scattered cutlery surrounding him in an arc. The ex-bartender turned bodyguard was actually sporting a few shards of the china embedded into his own skin. The adrenaline rush kept him from noticing enough to care.

"Say that again?"

Izaya looked up, red eyes haunted, "Please don't go."

That did it. That was the final straw.

_No! This isn't Izaya Orihara! This haunted, terrified man is not Izaya! What kind of sick joke is this?!_

Then, he'd thrown it. The door. He'd thrown the door, but some part of him had held back, and he narrowly missed Izaya. Said information broker had curled into himself with a low whimper.

"What's wrong with you?! Any other day, you'd have out that knife of yours, and that cheeky smirk you like to taunt people so much! Now, you're just cowering their on the floor! Pathetic!"

He hadn't meant it, of course. He never did. His anger just got the better of him way too much. Just like it made him lift things that he shouldn't be able to and pound people into a pulp, it also made him say things he'd later regret. Anger did strange things to one's mind. Like now.

All those times he'd threaten to kill Izaya? He never meant it. Not even once. Hell, beat him within an inch of his life? Sure. He'd be up for that one, but to kill him? Nope. That was the anger. After all, he hated violence. Although, he was losing focus of the true point as of the moment.

"I don't mean to be this way," said the shaky information broker, black locks of hair shadowing over the upper portion of his face, "I know I'm pathetic right now. I don't need an idiot to tell me of what I'm already aware of."

Before he knew it, he was right next to Izaya, slamming his foot down on the door he'd thrown early (and effectively splitting it in half), "Do you want me to stay, or not? I don't know why you're suddenly being so dependent, but with that mouth of yours, I'd be more than happy to leave you in your misery."

As he turned, a hand grabbed at his uniform pant leg, "Please, don't..."

He ran a hand through his hair. Sighed. "Fine," he muttered, "but tell me, what purpose does it serve for me to stay here?"

Izaya grew silent, and only replied with, "I'm scared."

Which, of course, may or may not have truly been a reply to his question. It didn't matter either way, because even a blind person could see that he was scared. There was no need to verbally acknowledge it, and yet the fact that Izaya himself had admitted to it- somehow, it twisted the proverbial knife in his heart deeper and deeper.

He grabbed hold of Izaya's dark red shirt, a color that matched his fearful eyes, and made a fist, "Scared? Of what?" he demanded gruffly.

He received a shake of the head in reply.

"What do you want from me?"

Izaya shook his head again.

Shizuo tried a question he'd already asked earlier, "Who did this to you?" he asked, and when Izaya started to shake his head again, Shizuo shook him, "No. No more of that. If it's protection you want, you need to be honest. What are you scared of?" _What could possible be so terrifying that you of all people would be scared?_

Cold hands grabbed at Shizuo's fist, causing him to realize he'd pushed Izaya into a wall. He released his grip on Izaya's shirt and took a step back.

"My parents are here. In Shinjuku."

He offered no further explanation on the topic, and Shizuo really hadn't even expected as much as he'd gotten. However, now he was curious. Izaya, the information broker who knew about the skeletons that everyone who was someone hid in their closet, was scared.

How was Shizuo, a lowly bodyguard, to come across just what skeletons lay in wait to be found inside Izaya Orihara's closet...?

_Perhaps I can stick around for a while. At least until I find out what it is about his parents that can scare him this much._

* * *

**Let me know if you see any typos or other abnormalities! :D I love to know, so I can fix them.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow! I really didn't expect as many people who actually have to have actually liked this story.**

* * *

For the remainder of the week, Shizuo spent a lot of time with Izaya pinned to his side. It wasn't of his own volition, mind you. The flea refused to be alone. He'd tried to explain in the kindest of terms that Izaya couldn't be around while he was working, but to no avail.

Eventually, he'd ended up explaining to Tom that there was no getting rid of Izaya, and that he'd just have to put up with the flea. Tom, who had a healthy fear of Izaya, unlike Shizuo, immediately accepted the explanation and questioned him no further on it.

Thus, Izaya had become a part of his daily routine. After the night he'd discovered the cowering information broker and simultaneously destroyed his front entrance, Shizuo decided that it would be better to bring Izaya back to his place in Ikebukuro. At least then, he'd have a door to close and lock while Shizuo was away.

In theory. Of course, he should have known it wouldn't be that easy. Izaya insisted that he'd be much safer if he kept near Shizuo, and so he'd become his guardian. Try as he did not to be, Shizuo was annoyed. He was not accustomed to this new side of Izaya- this vulnerable side that was much more childish than his usual self.

Sometimes, it took all the restraint he had not to smash the flea's face into a brick wall.

"That was the last one for today," Tom commented, "you can go home now."

It was a given that Tom was indirectly addressing Izaya as well as Shizuo. Regardless of how Izaya clung to Shizuo's side and observed everything with a look of distrust, Tom still treated him like a venomous creature that could strike at any moment.

"Right," Shizuo muttered, elbowing Izaya in the gut to get him to let go. Izaya coughed and stared up at him with wounded eyes. "I told you no clinging, flea. I'm your guardian, not your lover."

He averted his eyes, "I know that, stupid protozoan head."

Shizuo punched a brick wall, which was conveniently right behind Izaya's head. A crack was sent up the wall, and it was evident that with a little more abuse, it just might collapse.

Tom cleared his throat, "Unless you've forgotten, I'm still here. Perhaps, you could carry out this dispute back at your apartment?"

The blonde man sent a heated glare Tom's way, and for just a moment, his employer was certain he was finally going to be the target of the ex-bartender's fury. Shizuo begrudgingly looked away, back to Izaya.

"Yeah," he replied, "you're right. We should."

Izaya nodded in affirmation of the statement.

* * *

"Explain to me," Shizuo said to the raven haired man on his bed, "why it is that you have been so clingy this past week?"

There were no words spoken as Izaya simply traced patterns in the blankets of the bed using his finger. He didn't bother with an answer, and it aggravated Shizuo as he realized that he'd been completely ignored. He had to hold back when he noticed his fist quickly approaching Izaya's pale cheek. He hadn't noticed in time, though, and still managed to knock the flea over.

Izaya held his already swelling cheek and stared up and Shizuo in askance, "What was that for?"

By this point, Shizuo was so pissed off that he didn't even bother with words. Before he'd say or do something in his anger that he'd later regret, he turned and walked out of his bedroom.

"Where are you going?"

"You can have the bed tonight. I don't care. I'll just sleep on the couch."

Izaya frowned, "You're going to bed? So soon?"

"Yeah," Shizuo muttered, "so you'd better, too. No more harassing or clinging. I mean it. Go to sleep."

"I don't _cling_-"

Shizuo fixed him with a look that shut him up quite quickly. Izaya looked out the window.

"I'm going to bed," he said in a hushed tone.

The ex-bartender nodded and shut the bedroom door.

* * *

He'd been sleeping deeper than the dead when something unknown to him caused Shizuo to wake up. For a while, he just sat in a daze on the couch, wondering what could have woken him. It seemed that the room was completely silent, so he wasn't sure what had happened.

Then, he heard banging sounds from within his bedroom. His eyes went wide as he remembered that it was the room Izaya was in. He jumped off the couch and rushed into the room, where he was forced to break the door down, as it was locked. He broke in just as some shady figures were making their escape out the window. He looked around and saw Izaya on the floor. When he checked the information broker's vitals, he found that he was unconscious, but not dead.

He looked up. The last of the intruders was slipping out the window.

"Oh, no, you don't!"

He grabbed a nightstand and threw it at the man, only realizing afterward that it might have been a bad idea. The intruder, a man clad in all black, with a black mask and beanie hat to accompany the look, collapsed to the floor with the nightstand on top of him. It would most likely crush him to death. Shizuo cursed under his breath.

He lifted the nightstand off the nearly lifeless man to find him still alive, and even conscious. He felt a small spark of triumph within him at this.

"What do you want with Izaya?!" he demanded, disregarding that he'd yet again called Izaya by his name rather than calling him flea.

The man, quite disgruntled by Shizuo's attack, moved his hand slowly toward his shirt. Shizuo tensed at the prospect of a possible hidden blade, or other weapon of such sort. Instead, he was shocked to see the intruder reveal a ticking timer beneath his shirt. There were two minutes left on the timer. A bomb!

"Mother sends her regards."


	5. Chapter 5

"Get out of the way!"

Izaya, who had woken at some point during Shizuo's distraction, shoved the ex-bartender aside. He pulled out the pocket knife that Shizuo hadn't seen him use in so long, and it made him hold his breath. Izaya looked back at him for but a split second before returning to the matter at hand.

"I'm not going to cut you," he murmured as he got to work, "I know how to disarm the bomb."

True to his word, he made quick work of the time bomb before returning his knife to a pocket within his jacket. He gazed up at Shizuo.

"What do you want to do with him? He's still breathing."

"We can't kill him," Shizuo replied firmly, as he knew exactly where Izaya's thoughts were going, "I refuse to have his blood on my hands."

"I can do it."

"No. You won't."

Izaya grit his teeth, "Then what do you want to do with him?! Tie him up and keep him in your closet?!"

Shizuo scoffed at the suggestion, "No. We turn him loose."

"He's dying anyway. We may as well put him out of his misery."

When Izaya pulled his favorite knife back out, Shizuo said, "No! Don't you dare!"

But of course, he should have known better than to try to control Izaya. He winced as the blade swung down, swift and sharp, and he couldn't deny that the intruder really was dying. One thing he'd never admit to the flea: he was grateful. If the he hadn't stabbed the intruder, then it would have been Shizuo who had murdered him. He was in debt to Izaya now. Lovely.

"Great going," Shizuo grumbled sarcastically, "you killed him. Now what are you going to do with the body?"

"I have my ways."

"You know what? I don't even want to know."

Then, the flea did something Shizuo hadn't seen him do in three weeks. Izaya smirked. Shizuo was just a little pleased to see a more characteristic expression on his face for once. It gave him hope that things could return to normal soon.

* * *

Izaya returned a couple hours later, closing the door as gently as possible behind him.

"Now that you've disposed of the body, mind explaining what that guy was talking about?"

Izaya, who'd still been facing the front entrance, jumped and turned toward Shizuo, "Shizu-chan! Don't do that. You nearly gave me a heart attack."

Shizuo didn't deign to give him a reaction. A mere raise of the eyebrow would do. A single statement was conveyed with the action. _Explain_.

"I guess I do owe you a bit of an explanation, since you did save my ass back there," Izaya sighed, "first thing you should know is, I'm not on very good terms with my mother."

"You call that 'not very good'?" the bodyguard asked skeptically, then added, "I'd hate to see what you call bad."

"Hush, I'm not done," he rebutted, "my family runs an organization of sorts. Thing is, even though my father's the leader of the organization, it's my mother who's pulling the strings... What's more, she hates my guts. I was the bad child of the family, and nothing I ever did was good enough. Still, things had been going okay until an incident in middle school."

Shizuo didn't know why, but Izaya stopped talking. He stepped closer to the man and lightly shook his shoulder, "And then what?"

"Suffice to say she considers me the disgrace of the family," he finally said, "I don't blame her. Anyway, she's been out to kill me ever since."

Shizuo frowned. There had to be more to it than that.

"I know what you're thinking," Izaya chuckled, "there's more to it than that. What aren't you telling me? Well, it's not important. Not to a flea like you."

"Like hell it isn't," he said with a scowl, "what are you hiding from me?!"

Izaya removed Shizuo's fists from his shirt, which had somehow found their place their of their own volition. He shook his head, "It's not important. Those were the years I met Shinra."

He gasped as something clicked into place. Shizuo may have been stupid, but even he had heard the rumors spoken in hushed tones when students thought the information broker hadn't been listening. Izaya was referring to the incident in which he'd allegedly stabbed Shinra, then subsequently got involved in street gangs and the Yakuza. Shizuo obviously hadn't believed the rumors, because of how highly Shinra thought of him, but there had to have been some element of truth to them.

"That's all I'm telling you, though," Izaya said, pulling Shizuo from his reminiscing, "don't expect any more information from me than you've already gotten."

"Wasn't planning on it. Go back to bed. It's still four in the morning," Shizuo rolled his eyes, "I was expecting to get more sleep than this myself."

Izaya laughed, "Agitated?"

"As hell."

* * *

**Ah, well, here's to hoping there aren't (too many) typos. ^^**

**Hmm... strange that Izaya's suddenly not acting like a terrified child, ne? Suddenly taking action like that... Almost makes one think he was faking it~**


	6. Chapter 6

"I've been wondering," Shizuo mused to Izaya as they were walking behind Tom, "how is it that your suddenly able to walk around so casually like that? For an entire week, you were acting like a clingy baby, but now you seem to be practically your normal self. Was the past week just a ruse, then?"

What he didn't say to Izaya was that, had it been a ruse, he'd be pretty pissed. Not to mention he was already kind of pissed as is.

The information broker shook his head, "No, it wasn't a ruse. I really was scared. Last night, I was simply reminded what I am."

Tom watched them as they walked, from over his shoulder, but made no move to acknowledge the fact he'd been listening to the entire conversation. He wanted to dismiss them from his presence, but he could tell they were quite submerged into their conversation (to the point where they'd all but forgotten he was even there). It was really amazing they hadn't both walked into a pole yet.

"What? Don't you mean who?" Shizuo asked the confusing man. He truly hated it when Izaya spoke in his riddles. He may as well have been speaking in a foreign language to Shizuo with how complicated his speeches were. Maybe that was his own lack of intelligence speaking.

Izaya shrugged, "Eh. What, who. What's the difference?"

Shizuo recognized this response as an attempt to change the subject, rather than answer his question. He frowned at the flea and stated, "You know very well that there's a difference."

"True," he smirked, "and _you_ know very well that I like to keep my secrets."

Tom stopped walking, "Would now be a good time to let you guys know that I won't be needing assistance for this last stop?"

Both the men glared at Tom for the interruption, and he visible shrunk back before Shizuo shrugged one shoulder in response. He'd already started dragging Izaya away when he said, "If you say so. See you tomorrow."

After a while of dragging Izaya through Ikebukuro, he became aware of the flea's annoying shouting.

"Oi! Oi, protozoan! Listen when someone's talking to you!"

He turned sharply as he stopped, "What?!"

"I _said_ where are we going? This isn't the way back to your apartment," he glared, obviously annoyed by Shizuo's annoyance.

He contemplated this, "Well... there's only one person who I know of that might possibly know you better than I do, and that's Shinra."

"You're wasting your time."

"Huh?" the bodyguard was confused by the sudden admonishment, not sure what it was Izaya was referring to.

"You mean to ask him about my past, do you? Don't hold your breath. He doesn't know anything about my past beyond what he witnessed at school. I assure you that, whatever he has to offer, you've already gained that knowledge from the rumors. I'll admit that those were nearly spot on."

Shizuo had been just about ready to start walking again, but he stopped at this, "What? So you _did_ stab Shinra?!"

"No."

The subject grew stale over the next few minutes as they headed back to Shizuo's apartment. While his trust in Izaya was still shaky at best, he did believe the damned flea when he said that Shinra didn't know anything. He couldn't place his finger on it, but something about the way Izaya spoke made him want to believe it was true.

The remainder of the day was uneventful.

* * *

The next day had been just as uneventful as the previous, and Izaya's oddly normal behavior continued to peeve Shizuo. It wasn't that he wanted the flea to be suffering, but he found it disgruntling that he was able to act like his usual self right out of the blue. Either he'd been faking his fear, or something had triggered this.

"Shizu-chan~"

"Don't call me that. Do it one more time and I'll hit your face with a stop sign."

Tom had abruptly given Shizuo the day off when he noticed the two of them bickering back and forth worse than usual, so they were both walking aimlessly through Ikebukuro. Shizuo had to admit that it probably wasn't a good thing to be doing, seeing as whenever the information broker became bored, he'd resort to taunting him. He was losing his patience.

Izaya pouted at Shizuo's back, "Aww," he whined mockingly, "but Shizu-chan~"

Shizuo stopped, and Izaya walked right into his solid form. He looked back at Izaya with a forced grin, "What did I tell you about that name?" he rumbled in barely controlled anger.

Before Izaya could even procure an answer, Shizuo had his fist out. He was about to pound it into the damned flea's face when he got a glimpse of something in his deep rust colored eyes. It was much more subdued, but it was most definitely the same fear in his eyes he'd displayed when Shizuo had first discovered him after his random disappearance. He didn't have the heart to hurt Izaya when he was wearing an expression like that.

Shizuo straightened up and slid his hands into his pockets, "Forget it. You look too pitiful to even bother punching."

Izaya scowled, but followed Shizuo as the continued to wander through Ikebukuro. He hadn't been expecting Shizuo to actually hold back, but he sure as hell hadn't appreciated being pitied. He'd rather have been given a concussion from Shizuo's brute strength than suffer no damage because he looked like a helpless child. He just _knew_ that was what was going through Shizuo's head, the reason he'd held back.

* * *

For a light dinner, they went to Russian Sushi. Shizuo insisted that the only reason he'd decided to take Izaya to get sushi was because they'd run into Simon, who harassed them until they gave in. However, it wasn't unknown among most residents of Ikebukuro that Orihara Izaya was practically addicted to ootoro sushi. Of course, Shizuo was one of the people who was aware of this fact. He admitted nothing.

Although, if he were to admit anything, it would be that the smile on Izaya was more than worth the hefty price for the expensive sushi. It wasn't one of those conniving smirks he'd always put on when taunting the less fortunate, or a forced smile like he'd put on as his default expression. It was a genuine, heartfelt smile, and it made Shizuo's tummy feel warm and his toes curl.

"Shizu-chan~ Shizu-chan~!"

"What?!" Shizuo snapped as Izaya's annoying voice yanked him out of his reverie.

"Thank you for the ootoro, Shizu-chan~!" Izaya said with a smile.

The bodyguard told himself that the heat on his cheeks was _not_ from how adorable the damned flea looked right now. He rolled his eyes in an attempt to look nonchalant, "Yeah, whatever."

* * *

**Ew. I'm sorry I haven't uploaded this chapter sooner than this, guys. I honestly meant to update sooner and I don't know how I managed to get sidetracked. This should have been uploaded yesterday, honestly. I'm going to need to brainstorm on what happens next. ^^;**


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